A Comfortable Arrangement
by MaiBeth18
Summary: Due to some unfortunate events you find yourself down on your luck and without a place to stay.  But some unusual circumstances get you involved with the powerful Kaiba family.
1. Chapter 1 Out of Luck

You stretched up to tack your home-made notice sign to the bulletin board. The sun had just begun to set, a cool damp light was being cast over the sidewalks. A balmy fall breeze slid close to the ground, cooling your exposed ankles as it passed. A sigh escaped your lips as you straightened the stack of papers that you were still holding in your arms and glanced back over its contents.

Looking For:

Available room

Only one bedroom necessary.

Shared bathroom and storage is fine.

Willing to pay up to $300 a month

Please contact at (454) 454-5454

It had been hard since your mom had moved, and you felt just horrible always occupying the couch of your friends house. You just had to get a place of your own, even if it wasn't necessarily your own.

The traffic on the streets had started to die down, and the shadows of the tall buildings around you had begun to grow long. You looked hopelessly down the street and pouted, knowing that it was going to take forever to hang the rest of the flyers all by yourself.

Your parents had separated when you were young, leaving you to grow up in a quiet little house in the suburbs with your mom for as long as you could remember. You had nothing but wonderful things to say about your childhood. It had seemed that the strong connection you shared with your mother was enough to last through the toughest of times, and that she would do anything she needed to do to push you in the right direction. When you turned 18 it was discussed that it was time to leave the nest. Your mother had found a man that would take care of her. 13 months later they had packed up, and all the boxes but yours had made it on to the truck.

You ran a finger along your bottom lash line to catch a small droplet that had been forming there, and concentrated on steadying your breathing to the beat of your backless sandals hitting the pavement. Hugging the remaining flyers to your chest you closed your eyes and prayed that whoever answered your plea wouldn't be some creep, or some other bankrupt college kid that was just as desperate as you were. You really needed someone to take you in out of compassion. Friends were always there for emotional support when necessary but tensions grow quickly. Most especially when you are a constant hassle for both them and their family.

You twisted your hair over your right shoulder to keep the wind from playing with it. You bent down to set the papers on the ground while taking the one on top, planning to pin it to an opening on a memo board of a bus stop. You couldn't help but run your eyes over the wording once again and feel your insides curl. Pathetic. No employer was going to take an aspiring architect seriously if she is forced to "get by" by assigning herself to live with some rampant stranger.

The wind whistled through the trees, gently plucking dried leaves from the branches. You hugged yourself with your arms and watched them somersault with eloquent grace before touching down on the glassy surface of the pond in the park across the street. Your shirt billowed against your skin and you breathed in deep, allowing the cool air to fill your lungs.

A rustling filled your ears and the papers that had previously been sitting at your feet twisted their way through your legs and took off in the same direction as the leaves.

"Oh no!" you yelled, running after them while flailing your arms aimlessly through the air in attempts to catch the ones that still drifted. "This is NOT what I need right now! No, no no!" You managed to catch a few, and watched mournfully as the rest scattered themselves across the sidewalk and street, dancing mockingly.

You allowed your body to collapse on the bench near the bus stop and dropped your face into your hands. Well, you did want to spread word…..

You could feel the presence of another living entity approach. You hunched your back and curled yourself smaller, hoping it would prevent being approached.

"Um, excuse me. Are you alright ma'am?" Just your luck.

Your head snapped up at the deep satin voice. Before you stood a young man with iron colored hair. He was formally dressed in a well fitted suit, the navy jacket draped over his arm. He was exceedingly handsome, his broad shoulders showed strength and in one of his large hands he clutched one of your demoralizing flyers.

"Y-Yes." You stuttered. Wait no. You did not need his sympathy. "No. No. I, I'm fine thank you." You rose from your sitting position and held out your hand to shamefully accept the paper, but his face remained stern, as he analyzed you with eyes that gleamed like amethyst.

"You're looking for a place to stay?" He questioned, refusing to take his eyes off your face. Your bottom lip twitched with embarrassment, and you hesitated, wrapping your arms around your abdomen as you spoke.

"Yes, I'm looking for a place to stay. So I don't have to put so much pressure on my good friends."

He scoffed. "Must not be too good of friends if they are kicking you out."

"No! No, you don't understand- they're wonderful it's just.." Your eyes drifted back to the pond. Its surface was now dappled with leaves, flecked with gold as the sun inched closer to the horizon.

"You need to talk about it."

The way he said it made it seem as though it were not a question. Leading you to assume that he wanted you to "talk about it" with him. You found yourself staring questioningly into his eyes. The burned with compassion, and sincerity. You then took into account his formal business attire and chiseled appearance. He was probably some rich CEO looking for a publicity stunt.

"Why would someone as important as you care about someone like me? I have nothing to offer you." You forcefully snatched the flyer from his hands and began to stalk off in the direction you came. Your sandals snapping with sass as you went. A strong hand grasped at your wrist and you found yourself being pulled by the shoulders to face this strange empathetic business man. He smelled of spice cologne, and his lips kindly formed a smile and he barley whispered the words,

"Try me."

You signed and felt your mouth quiver. You wanted nothing more but to go to your friend Ellie's house, curl up on her scratchy fiber sofa and sleep off these hard feelings. You felt the strong grip of his fingers tighten around your wrist and you breathed in with surprise. Your stomach squirmed at your closeness.

"If you must know.." you snapped "My father left when I was young, and my mother got herself hitched and moved to London."

You twisted yourself out of his grasp and tried once more to escape, but this time he grabbed for your hand.

"So you're all alone?"

You stared at him with shock; he seemed so genuine- this stranger- as if he actually cared. And you found that you couldn't help but trust him.

You simply nodded and sniffed.

"How are you living?" he asked giving your fingers a squeeze. Again you found yourself getting lost in the glint of his eyes. But you cleared your throat and tried to seem confident.

"I have a job, as a secretary. But I'm going to school and I will be a licensed Architect in a little over a year!" You boasted. His eyes widened.

"Really?" His smooth voice was filled with interest. "You seem so young…"

"Well I'm not!" you snapped. "And I am perfectly capable of taking care of my-"

His hand clamped over your mouth. "I'm sure that you are. But right now you need help." You cocked your head confused. "I'm alone too." He murmured. "But I have room, plenty of it. And I wouldn't mind having some company." You backed away, astonished.

"Are you- inviting me to, stay, with you? You don't even know me!"

"Well, you were sending out flyers! Waiting for some stranger to call. I don't want you to succumb to staying with some pervert!" You couldn't help but chuckle. He did seem like a dependable man, not to mention he might have friends that were just as attractive as he was…although that was a hard match to beat.

You hesitantly stuck out your hand, and he grasped it. Your pearly skin glowed next to his, which was faintly bronzed by the sun.

"Mokuba." He smiled and he shook your hand. "Mokuba Kaiba."


	2. Chapter 2 On the Fence

"Well, here we are."

It appeared that Mokuba always smiled when he talked, in addition to turning to face you directly so that it made you feel as though he wanted everything that came out of his mouth to fill you with the greatest joy. It also made you feel as though you were required to answer.

"It's incredible." And it truly was. The plated building rose high up into the low evening clouds and seemed to glisten in the sinking sunlight. You immediately noticed the large windows that allowed for plenty of natural lighting, and the elegant sloping of its stacked levels that allowed for each room to receive maximum sunlight while at the same time representing a modern twist on traditional Japanese architecture. It was beautifully designed, a silver beacon in the middle of an urban sprawl. You bit your lip as you wondered if he had happened to see your $300 price limit.

"It's great!" Mokuba beamed over the roof of the car as he came around to meet you. "Come on in and have a look around."

Mokuba lead you to an elevator shaft in what appeared to be the garage. You knew absolutely nothing about cars. The makes and models of buildings was definitely more your thing. However you could tell by the sleek curves (not to mention lack of rust, anywhere) that you would not be fitting in here.

"The elevator ride can be kind of long, that's the only downside…" At this Mokuba looked truly disappointed. As if the elevator ride to his floor was the only thing from preventing him from having a perfect life. The light above the door illuminated, shortly followed by the door collapsing open. When Mokuba stepped into the car you could suddenly see him at all angles. The back of his head, his profile. The same happened to you as your foot crossed the threshold. The walls were seamlessly covered in mirrors from floor to ceiling. No matter which direction you looked you came in contact with a reflection of those amethyst eyes. So true that even in such a quick glance you could recognize the purple color. You decided to keep your vision focused on your shoes as you crossed an arm over your abdomen as you always did when you were nervous. But even in your sign of minute distress, you continued to feel his eyes on you.

_Kaiba. _You thought. Where had you heard that name before? _Mokuba Kaiba. _

Seto Kaiba.

Of course. The prodigy. The Midas of the Business world. Everyone in Japan knew of Seto Kaiba, maybe everyone in the world, you weren't sure. He had taken over his step-father's company before he was even 18 years old after the former CEO died in a freak accident. The company's main board members had tried to seize it from him, but the young Kaiba had proven his worth. It seemed as everything he touched turned to gold, and stores could never keep enough of his merchandise on the shelves.

You tried to glance at Mokuba out of the corner of your eye. Thankfully his attention was now on lights above the door, tracking your journey to this stranger's apartment.

_Seto must keep good tabs on his family, _you thought. You knew that his step-father, the former owner, had passed away, but despite his fame you could not recall ever hearing about his mother or if he had any siblings. But hey, you were dedicated college student not one of his creepy fan girls.

Mokuba hadn't been kidding, it was a long elevator ride.

You glanced up to see how many more floors you had to go. The only numbered circle glowing read 31. Second from the end.

"You live on the second highest floor?!" You asked incredulously.

"Highest." Mokuba responded with a breathtaking smile. "Floor 32 is a Sky Garden"

You couldn't help but gape. And he just kept fricken smiling.

So that's what this was about. All he wanted was to show off his penthouse apartment to broke student that wouldn't even be able to afford a one night stay on his couch. Or worse. He would make you his maid or personal chef. _How degrading._

The car finally came to a stop and the door slid open. Instead of opening up into a hallway as one would expect, the door revealed a metal gate, in which Mokuba inserted a key and then turned to hold open for you. _Oh God, his apartment is the entire 31__st__ floor._

When your feet refused to move Mokuba laughed. He leaned forward to grab your wrist and pull you into the entryway.

"I…..I don't think this is going to work out." You stammered. "I could never afford-"

"Oh come on at least have a look around!" still gripping your wrist he began to pull you into the living room. He pulled and led you freely, like a child would with a playmate.

Decorations were sparse. There was a gigantic T.V. mounted on the left wall, a white leather couch directly across, and a stubby white coffee table breaking the ice in between. The walls looked as if they had been scrubbed in bleach, so white you could probably see your reflection in them. You quickly looked behind you to make sure your dirty sandals weren't tracking grime all over the polished floors.

You looked for crumbs, a dirty dish, or open magazine, anything that would prove that someone lived in this gigantic place, but there was nothing.

"It's like no one lives here" you whispered.

Mokuba momentarily stopped pulling your arm from its socket and turned to face you. "I know" he whispered back. "I'm here, alone, so I try not to spend too much time h-" Suddenly his face lit up, as if he was unable to stay sad for such a time. You couldn't help but be amazed by his youth. When looking at his face you would deem him an attractive man, maybe not much older than you. 26, 27 perhaps. But his personality didn't fit his freshly pressed shirt and boxed toed shoes. He should be out, having drinks with friends or putting his arm around a skimpily dressed girl at the movies.

"Here, look at the view." He left your arm hang as he went to pull back the thick curtain that seemed to cover the entire back wall. As he did you had to bring your arm up to shield your eyes. He stepped back to reveal a floor to ceiling window that overlooked the entire city. You could see the Skytree, and the beautiful cable bridge that sprawled across the Sumida River. But most impressively, directly in front of you, towering even higher above your current 31 floors was Kaiba Corp.

You had always admired the skyscraper. It was probably one of the most modern buildings in all of Japan. It was rumored that the elevators could get to the top of its hundred floors in less than a minute. The architect that designed it probably won't have to work another day in his life.

"Wow, Mokuba. It's beautiful." You gasped. You turned to look at him expecting him to be taking in the sight in awe just as you had been. Instead he as gazing at you. He wore a small smirk, instead of the beaming smile that you were beginning to get annoyed with. His eyes slowly traveled down your face.

"I'm glad you like it." He said quietly.

You were used to Japanese men admiring you. Your long limbs and long blonde hair were a rare sight unless you within a mile of one of the embassy's.

You quickly averted your eyes, and began to back away from the giant window, suddenly afraid the glass would break sending you plummeting to your death. _Kaiba Corp._

You had no real interest in seeing the rest of the place, or ever talking to this man ever again. But with your mind suddenly in a haze you mumbled something about going to check out the kitchen.

He didn't follow you at first, but above the clacking of your sandals on the marble you could have swore you'd heard him tap the glass and mumble.

"Hey, Nii-sama."


End file.
